WHAT IS TAB?
Tab, or Tablature, which looks like this:

E ------------------------------------------------------ B ------------------------------------------------------ G ------------------------------------------------------ D ------------------------------------------------------ A ------------------------------------------------------ E ------------------------------------------------------

is a method of writing down music played on the guitar (or other instrument), so that others may reproduce what you have played without being able to read music, or so that you can go back to music you've made yourself. Once you get started making your own music, if you don't write it down, you will forget what you played.

The Importance of Tabbing Your Music
If you can remember everything you've written, that's great, but it's still a good idea to write it down for others to see. New guitarists, that are in the same place you are in now, can get ideas from things you've written, because the tab that you write now isn't going to be as complicated as tab someone might download off the net of their favorite band. It's frustrating to try to play the really complicated stuff first, it's best to start small. Later on, you can come back to the tab that gave you trouble and you might understand it better.

I have been playing guitar for three years now, and sometimes I'll go back to things that puzzled me in the past, and I can play them...at least better than I could before. Being a good guitarist isn't something that comes quickly (unless you are very lucky), so I strive to learn or work on new techniques and styles every time I sit down to play. There are a lot of chords out there, so there's always more to learn. Whenever you learn, or come up with, something new, tab it out. It's a good resource later on down the road when you have a creative block, and for when you want to practice things you've learned.

Did you understand everything? If you did, please read on...

TAB EXPLANATION
As illustrated above, tabs contain 6 lines which represent the 6 lines on your guitar. There are also 7 string guitars, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

If you were to place the guitar on your knee, as if you were going to play it, and then flip it 180º towards you, so the strings are facing you, the above is how the strings would look. The High E is the string on the first line, then B, and so on through Low E.

The tab above has no notes on it, it just for explanatory purposes. This:

E ------------------------------------------------------ B ------------------------------------------------------ G ------------------------------------------------------ D ----------------0------------------------------------- A ------------4-------4----0---------------------------- E ------------------------------------------------------

is what tab with notes on it looks like. The numbers represent what fret of the guitar you put your fingers on. A chord would look like this:

E ----2------------------------------------------------- B ----3------------------------------------------------- G ----2------------------------------------------------- D ----0------------------------------------------------- A ------------------------------------------------------ E ------------------------------------------------------

This is a D chord, but, at this point, that is not important. What IS important is that you know that the above means you put a finger (your middle finger to be exact, but you'll catch on) on the second fret of the High E string, a finger (ring finger) on the third fret of the B string, and another finger (pointer) on the second fret of the G string. The zero on the D string means you strum the string, but don't put any of your fingers on the string.

Don't be discouraged if all you get is some muffled notes and a buzzing coming from the frets, all of us guitarists start that way. Your fingers will also probably hurt for the first month or two you play, but as they say, "No pain, no gain." It is all worth it when you learn how to play your favorite song and realize that it isn't as hard as it sounded like it was.

Chords can also be in arpeggio form. That basically means that you pick each of the notes of the chord individually, rather than just strumming it. In tab, an arpeggio chord looks like:

E -----------2------------------------------------------ B ---------3-------------------------------------------- G -------2---------------------------------------------- D -----0------------------------------------------------ A ------------------------------------------------------ E ------------------------------------------------------

Now that you know how to read notes, there are a few more things to understand in order to get started.

You will often see pieces in tablature that look similar to these:

E ------------------------------------------------------ B ------------------------------------------------------ G ------------------------------------------------------ D ------------------------------------------------------ A --------5h7------5h7-----5h7----------------------- E ------------------------------------------------------

The 'h' between the numbers indicates a hammer-on. A hammer-on is when you play the note on one fret with your pointer finger, and put another finger on another fret past that one with another finger, without actually playing the note. This mutes the first note and makes the second one sound lighter than it would if you had played it. This is a technique quite often used.

Another oft used technique is the pull-off. This technique is the opposite of the hammer-on. A pull off is when you play the note on one fret with your ring finger, and, having another finger on another fret before that one, pull off your ring finger, which will sound the second note without actually playing it. This mutes the first note and makes the second one sound lighter than it would if you had played it. This technique looks like this on tab:

E ------------------------------------------------------ B ------------------------------------------------------ G ------------------------------------------------------ D ------------------------------------------------------ A --------7p5------7p5-----7p5----------------------- E ------------------------------------------------------

CONGRATULATIONS, you now have graduated from TAB school!

Additional Reading: A DETAILED guide to reading tabs